United States of Europe
The United States of Europe (USE)Google Translate renders the phrase into German as Vereinigten Staaten von Europa. That style is not used in the series, but it is not clear if that is for the benefit of English-speaking readers, or if it is an in-universe concession to up-timer sensibilities, or if the English phrase "United States" was incorporated into Amideutsch. was a federation formed in November 1633 from the Confederated Principalities of Europe (CPoE), which was composed of many of the roughly 1800 German political units of the Holy Roman Empire of the 1630s. It was founded by several late 20th century-early 21st century Americans who were displaced into mid-seventeenth century Europe due to an incident involving an Assiti Shard. They based the structure of the USE loosely on the United States Constitution, taking 17th century politics into account, and heavily based the government on the British-style parliamentary system. One difference from that model is that the upper house of the Parliament consisted of the state/provincial governors and the mayors (or equivalents) of the imperial cities. A peculiar side-effect of this was that, since Gustavus Adolphus had made himself Duke of Mecklenburg and Duke of Pomerania, he had two votes in the upper house. The USE had a Supreme Court, but did not establish a new court for this purpose. Instead, it essentially took over the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Chamber Court (Reichskammergericht). As of 1634, the Court was seated in the city of Wetzlar.In the OTL, the Reichskammergericht was in Speyer in 1634, and did not move to Wetzlar until 1689. Even under the USE, the Court was known for the extreme length of time it could take to reach a decision. While the nation was styled "United States", it appeared that only the State of Thuringia-Franconia and (later) the state of Tyrol actually styled themselves as "states". The capital of the USE was Magdeburg. The first Prime Minister of the USE was Michael Stearns. The first, and so far only, Emperor of the USE was Gustavus Adolphus. Provinces The USE was composed of several provinces and imperial cities. The imperial cities were effectively city-states, and functioned as provinces. Not all provinces were completely self-governing. Fully self-governing 'Brunswick' *'Head of state:' Duke George of Brunswick-Lüneburg; managed in his absence by Loring Schultz 'Hesse-Kassel' *'Capital:' Kassel *'Heads of state:' Landgrave William V (until his death in 1635) and Landgravine Amalie Elisabeth *Territories Included: Paderborn, the Ducky of Westphalen, Waldeck, Wittgenstein, the northern portions of Nassau-Siegen and Nassau-Dillenburg, Wied, Trier east of the Rhine, parts of Mark and Berg, and Corvey 'Madgeburg' *'Capital:' Magdeburg (city) *'Head of state:' Governor Matthias Strigel (elected) *Separate from the imperial city of Madgeburg. 'State of Thuringia-Franconia' *'Capital:' Initially Grantville, moved to Bamberg in 1635. *'Head of state:' President Ed Piazza (elected) As of April 1636 , Vice President Helene Gundelfinger was the effective head of state, as Piazza had unofficially moved to Magdeburg to prepare a run for a seat in the House of Commons, and possibly the position of Prime Minister.[http://www.ericflint.net/index.php/2016/08/12/1636-the-ottoman-onslaught-snippet-06/ 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught, Snippet 06][http://www.ericflint.net/index.php/2016/08/15/1636-the-ottoman-onslaught-snippet-07/ 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught, Snippet 07] [[County of Tyrol|'Tyrol']] *'Capital:' Bolzano *Voluntarily entered the USE in mid-1635, following negotiations between Claudia de' Medici and the USE government. *Ruled by a regency council headed by Wilhelm Bienner, acting for Claudia's minor sons. 'Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate)' (after April 1636) *'Capital:' Amberg *'Head of state:' Werner von Dalberg (elected as governor, from the Fourth of July Party) 'Württemberg' *'Capital:' Stuttgart *'Head of state:' The late Eberhard III, as Perpetual Duke *'Head of government:' An elected "Perpetual Regent", identity TBD. *Entered the USE in the latter half of 1635, under the disputed provisions of Duke Eberhard’s April 1635 will.This state of affairs is mentioned in the Grid, and Württemberg appears on maps dated after the start of 1636, but it apparently has not been written about. 'Saxony' * Capital: Dresden * Head of state: Chancellor Gretchen Richter (elected in 1636) with Ernst Wettin acting as regent in her absence. 'Julich-Berg' * Head of state: '''Duchess Katharina Charlotte Mecklenburg * '''Capital: Schwerin * Head of state: '(elected) Self-governing, but with imperially appointed governors 'Westphalia *'Head of state:' Prince Frederik of Denmark *Territories included: "Muenster, Osnabrueck, Schaumburg, Verden, Lippe, Lingen, Bremen, Hoya, Diepholz, and Holstein." Under imperial administration These provinces still elect members of the House of Commons. 'Pomerania' *Directly ruled by Gustavus Adolphus, in his capacity as Duke of Pomerania. *As of July 1635, Pomerania was technically self-governing, but effectively ruled by direct imperial fiat. 'Province of the Main' *'Capital:' Mainz *'Administrator:' Nils Brahe Brandenburg * Capital: '''Berlin '''Swabia Upper Rhine * Territories Included: "Remnants of the Rhine-Palatinate, Pfalz-Zweibruecken, the Diocese of Speyer, Erbach, Saarbruecken, Saarwerden, Hagenau, Dagsberg, the northern portion of the Diocese of Strassburg, Obersalm, Landstuhl -" Imperial cities *Augsburg *Frankfurt am Main *Hamburg *Luebeck *Magdeburg *Strassburg *Ulm *Cologne Proposed Provinces/Imperial cities under Negotiation * Oldenburg (currently ruled by Count Anthony Günther) * Bremen * Harlingen "Protectorates" * Bavaria (Albrecht VI of Bavaria installed) * Lower Silesia (Gretchen Richter as Lady Protector) Foreign Policy The foreign policy of the USE was predicated on the goal of spreading American-style democracy in Europe. Its primary enemy was the League of Ostend, consisting of Spain (which had been the current enemy of the Protestant German states), France, England, and Denmark. All these countries saw the USE as a political threat to their national interests. The conflict with the League of Ostend lasted more than a year from 1633 to 1634 when Denmark was defeated and formed, with Sweden, a new Union of Kalmar; and Cardinal Don Fernando severed his connection with Spain, became king in the Netherlands, and established peace between his kingdom and the USE. A ceasefire was declared between France and the USE while a weakened Spain continued its warring interests. As of early 1635 no ceasefire existed between the USE and England. Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria developed a very antagonistic relationship towards the USE following the death of his wife Elizabeth Renata, and threatened to kill any USE nationals entering Bavaria. Maximilian was deposed by the USE and sent into exile in 1636; his brother Albrecht was installed and Bavaria became a protectorate. By 1635, with the destruction of the League of Ostend, the USE annexed (or re-incorporated, depending on one's POV) Brandenburg and Saxony, and invaded the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1636, the USE, Bohemia, and Austria-Hungary formed the Central European Treaty Organization in response to the threat the Ottoman Empire posed to Austria-Hungary. State of the Nation After Gustavus Adolphus was injured at the Battle of Lake Bledno, the USE experienced a conflict between reactionary forces loyal to Axel Oxenstierna, and liberal and loyalist forces such as the Committees of Correspondence and the Fourth of July Party. This was not a true civil war, as there were no armed clashes outside of Mecklenburg and Saxony. It was essentially a political conflict, with Oxenstierna's opponents "fighting" by presenting themselves as legitimate. As of the 1636 elections, the FOJP gained a majority in the Lower House and a plurality in the Upper House. By 1636, the United States of Europe had become the dominant economic, scientific, and industrial power in Europe. The only power that could challenge the USE was the Ottoman Empire. Military Forces By the end of the Ostend War, the USE had the most powerful army in Europe and the Middle-East. As of March 1636 the USE Army had 3 divisions under Lt General Lennart Torstenson engaged in operations in Bavaria or Poland. Approximately 30,000 volunteers were in the core under Torstenson. General Gustav Horn command a separate detachment of soldiers who are legally part of the USE Army but practically are mercenaries who follow Horn. Another advantage the USE Army has is the quality of its officers and soldiers. Soldiers in the USE Army are required to be literate. The Army had begun to send their officers to colleges or universities. Unlike the mercenaries or civilians that form the basis of many European Armies, the men and women of the USE fight for ideological reasons. The USE can easily recruit more troops to further bolster their already powerful army. The USE was the first nation to build an Air Force and it has no rival. The Ottomans have a larger quantity of balloon craft. However USE planes have greater speed and range than any Other craft. The USE Navy, though small in numbers and a limited range, can easily destroy any rival nations' fleet within a few hours. The USE Navy is the first Navy with Uniforms, a strong esprit de corps, and a strict code of conduct. It is the most professional Navy in the Europe. In addition, some of its provinces have their own standing forces (such as the National Guard for Thuringia-Franconia and the Hessian Army of Hesse-Kassel, the latter participating in the Eastern War). Flag The flag of the USE was a black St. Andrews cross (saltire) on a red field, which contained individual gold stars representing the provinces of the USE.It is not clear whether or not the imperial cities, which were provinces in fact if not in name, were also represented by stars. In the center, there was a version of the lesser coat of arms of Sweden, with the blue replaced by black. The saltire had been the basis of the Scottish and other European flags for generations, though it is not known if if was chosen for its association with Scotland. The black, gold, and red colors were historically associated with German identity and nationality, while the three crowns (tre kronor) were recognizably Swedish. The use of stars for states/provinces was an up-time American practice. The red field and use of stars in the St. Andrews cross caused the flag to strongly resemble the American "Southern Cross", especially at a distance. Some American up-timers disliked having a national flag that was visually so similar to the Southern Cross, which, in the OTL, had often symbolized a belief in white supremacy. Many refused to display it. Some went farther, and more-or-less conflated the two flags.While the similarity and reactions to it are noted (Grantville Gazette XXIII, "Turn Your Radio On, Episode Five"), the actual lines of reasoning that went into the design appear to be left as unstated background. Currency The currency of the USE was the USE dollar, though other currencies could and did circulate freely within the USE. While the USE dollar was a decimal currency, other circulating currencies continued to use their traditional denominations. The USE dollar was not, strictly speaking, a new currency; the New United States dollar, complete with Tom Stone's designs, became the USE dollar. Tom's greenbacks are not so readily accepted in certain areas in Europe. The USE has a hard currency that is used out side and inside of it's borders often in diplomatic missions. we Notes References Category:Countries (Fictional work) Category:Countries Category:1632 series